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NEWS

Trump: US will protect Kurds, no timetable for Syria withdrawal

2 January 2018|Kurdistan 24

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday President Donald Trump made an important statement about the US posture in the Middle East: he will protect the Kurds in Syria, as he withdraws troops from that country. Trump also affirmed there was no timetable for the withdrawal from Syria, countering a New York Times report on Monday of a four-month period for the troop withdrawal.

Syria’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday claimed 400 fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) pulled out of Manbij, the pro-Syrian government news agency SANA reported. However, a YPG source says there are no YPG fighters in Manbij. “There is no YPG in Manbij,” the source told Kurdistan 24 on the basis of anonymity. “Nobody can say YPG fighters are departing Manbij.”

The fight against the Islamic State in Syria is not over, and the Kurds should be protected, French President Emmanuel Macron told Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Wednesday. Macron underlined “the need to recognize the rights of local populations and to ensure forces allied with the [US-led] coalition, notably the Kurds,” are protected given their ongoing efforts in the fight against IS. France earlier revealed its intention to remain in Syrian regions liberated from IS following Trump’s announcement that he would withdraw troops from the country.

Turkish fighter jets carried out bombardments on several locations in the countryside of Duhok city in southern Kurdistan, northern Iraq, Wednesday evening. The attacks targeted the villages of Zap, Rekan, Guher and Kafya in Metina region of Duhok.

KNK Rojava branch established a committee to unite all Kurdish political parties against the threats of occupation against North and East Syria. The meeting, which was attended by most members of the KNK branch in Rojava, addressed the threats faced by the Kurdish people, particularly the continuing Turkish threats against northern Syria. The meeting also stressed the need to ‘discard narrow partisan differences’ and focus on ‘forming a unified Kurdish strategy.’

France will always remain dependable ally to Kurdistan: Consul General in Erbil

31 December 2018| Kurdistan 24

French Consul General in Erbil Dominique Mas’ comments came in a New Year’s message. Mas recalled his President Emmanuel Macron’s words last week when he expressed his deep regret with the US announcement of a troop withdrawal from Syria where they have been backing the Kurds in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), adding that “an ally should be dependable.”

Dutch government party wants to send soldiers to Syria to stop Turkish invasion

29 December 2018| Kurdistan 24

The Dutch Christian Union Party, a member of the Dutch government coalition, proposed on Friday to send Dutch soldiers to Syria to join a “coalition of the willing” where they will help French and British troops in the war-embattled country. “According to [Trump, Turkey can take over the fight against IS. But this is wishful thinking since Turkey was the…base for IS,” he added.

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) called on the Syrian government on Friday to take control of the city of Manbij to protect the area against a threatened Turkish invasion. “Due to the invading Turkish state’s threats to invade northern Syria and displace its people similarly to al-Bab, Jarablus and Afrin, we as the People’s Protection Units, following the withdrawal of our forces from Manbij before, announce that our forces will be focusing on the fight against ISIS on all the fronts in the east of the Euphrates,” the YPG said.

“I think it is a mistake. The SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] just took the town of Hajin from ISIS after three months of heavy fighting and significant casualties,” he said to Kurdistan 24. “This was the last ISIS stronghold in Syria and paved the way for the SDF to completely control the middle Euphrates Valley. That has been the US goal – support the SDF with air, artillery, intelligence, special operations, logistics, etc. – until ISIS was removed from the country,” he added.

Google incorporation removed a map outlining the geographical extent of the Greater Kurdistan after the Turkish state asked it to do so, a simple inquiry on the Internet giant’s search engine from Wednesday on can show. “Unavailable. This map is no longer available due to a violation of our Terms of Service and/or policies,” a note on the page that the map was previously on read. Google did not provide further details on how the Kurdistan map violated its rules.

Salih Muslim stated that the US decision to withdraw from Syria is sudden in regards to the conditions they announced earlier and added: “We didn’t call them, and we’re not sending them away. They weren’t here to protect us in any case.” PYD (Democratic Union Party) Diplomatic Relations Co-chair Salih Muslim said the US deciding to withdraw troops from Syria before the previously stated conditions for withdrawal are met is connected to the Turkish state threats and preparations to invade Northern Syria in terms of timing.

Donald Trump’s decision to put an end to the US military operation against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria has left many observers wondering what might happen to Washington’s main partners on the ground, the Kurds, and whether their enemy Turkey offered the president anything in return.

Confusion surrounds the status of Manbij in Syria’s Aleppo Province, amid both an anticipated Turkish-rebel offensive and a Kurdish militia’s offer to hand over the town to the Assad regime’s military. With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatening an attack on areas held by the Kurdish militia YPG, Ankara’s troops and Syrian rebels have been moved to a frontline near Manbij, at the western edge of territory held by the US-supported, YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

An Anarchist in Syria Speaks on the Real Meaning of Trump’s Withdrawal

28 December 2018| Crimethinc

Following Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that he is withdrawing US troops from Syria, we’ve received the following message from an anarchist in Rojava, spelling out what this means for the region and what the stakes are on a global scale.

The Syrian army has entered the key northern city of Manbij for the first time in six years, an army spokesman has said. However the US-led coalition operating in the area said it had not seen military changes inside Manbij. A US official and a UK-based monitoring group said Syrian troops had deployed in the area around the city.

Too many of those protesting the removal of U.S. forces are authors of the catastrophe that tore Syria to pieces, reports Max Blumenthal for Consortium News. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an imminent withdrawal of US troops from northeastern Syria summoned a predictable paroxysm of outrage from Washington’s foreign policy establishment. Former secretary of state and self-described “hair icon” Hillary Clinton perfectly distilled the bipartisan freakout into a single tweet, accusing Trump of “isolationism” and “playing into Russia and Iran’s hands.”

While corporate media portrayed Trump’s withdrawal of US troops from Syria as a Christmas gift to Russia’s Putin, veteran Middle East reporter Patrick Cockburn says this is infantile and conspiratorial. NATO member Turkey stands to gain most, and could launch an attack on Kurdish forces in the northeast

It would be nice to think the president has final say on foreign policy, given the U.S. Constitution. But the misleading troop withdrawal announcement, followed by Trump’s boastful tweet, suggests the exact opposite, says Patrick Lawrence.

Steve Sweeney talks to Chair of the British Alevi Federation Israfil Erbil about a pogrom Turkey’s government would rather they forgot. Just one month separates the founding conferene of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in November 1978 and the events known as the Maras Massacre, when Islamic fundamentalists and Turkish fascists (Gray Wolves) started a week-long killing spree which left moer than 100 Alevis murdered and many more injured.

The Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, also called Rojava, is passing through a dangerous period. Turkey attacked and occupies Afrin, one of the three Kurdish provinces. The Islamic State is still active. The authorities of the Democratic Federation had talks with the Damascus government on its de facto autonomy, without success, as for now.

Steve Sweeney reports on the case of Anselm Schindler, a German freelance journalist who is fighting against his conviction for a carrying the flag of the Kurdish YPJ. German courts have been accused of trying to criminalise the Kurdish freedome movement and opposition to the authoritarian regime of Turkish Presidenct Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The country is home to a sizeable Kurdish minority, many of who fled persecution from Turkey because of their beliefs.

There are still important events to take place in the next few days: one is the trilateral meeting among Russia, Turkey and Iran which should happened before the bilateral meeting between Turkey and the United States.

Salih Muslim, Head of Foreign Relations for the PYD evaluated the diplomatic efforts of 2018 in North and East Syria and said, the New Year’s diplomacy will be conducted based on resolving Syrian crisis and the liberation of Afrin.

Assyrians and Syriacs stated that they will continue to stand united against Turkish state attacks and resist. The Assyrian and Syriac peoples condemned the attacks against Northern Syria and Rojava in their Christmas messages which follow.

Syriac officials in the Northern and Eastern Syrian administration and military forces spoke about Turkey’s threats and the US decision to withdraw from Syria, stating that peoples are not without alternatives and they have new projects in progress.

“We defend Northern Syria and Rojava because we defend a world without fascism and patriarchy”. YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) International has released a statement on the Turkish state’s genocidal war and recently increased attacks against Kurds and Kurdistan. Full text of the statement by YPJ International reads as follows

EMERGENCY APPEAL FOR AFRIN

Life in Afrin

Weekly News Briefing

Jeremy Corbyn issues statement of support for the National Demo

Message from Jeremy Corbyn to Kurdish national demonstration in London:
“I’m sorry not to be able to be with you today, but I send a message of solidarity with today’s demonstration, and with the Kurdish people, under sustained attack across the Middle East.
The conflict in Syria has been the trigger for an onslaught against the Kurdish people, who are defending their autonomy and their rights.
We are watching closely the alarming events that have been unfolding in Turkey in recent weeks, including the killing of civilians and destruction of Kurdish homes.
Any negotiated settlement of the Syrian conflict must include peace and justice for the Kurds, including in Turkey. And the Turkish government needs as a matter of urgency to restart the peace process with the Kurds and respect the rights of all its people.
We call for an end to repression of the Kurds and justice for the Kurdish people throughout the Middle East.”

Destruction and Repression in North Kurdistan

Freedom for Ocalan!

On the 19th anniversary of his kidnap and imprisonment by Turkey, we renew our call for Abdullah Ocalan to be freed as part of a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.